The Tale of Dragon Bookshop
by Lizohsmile
Summary: After the war, Hermione is left wondering what happens to her friends. It seems everyone has changed and she is the only one left not knowing what to do. Desperate she visits her favorite bookshop, from where begins a whirlwind of emotions and knowledge.


Greetings! This is my first published fic, so don't be too harsh. I can't promise I will publish every then and then, but I'll try my best. Enjoy! -Liz

We all had taken some time off after the war had ended and first important things had setteled down, as for example the Ministry of Magic and as the new students (and old ones) became the letter of Hogwards written by McGonagall. Harry, Ron and me were all saying the same: thank Merlin it all was over. Now we could do whatever we wanted, including attending the Hogwards for the last year and having free tickets to every quiddich game in next fifty years. Every single time when Harry walked out of his house, he was stopped by completely strangers thanking him for everything he had done. First he said it was nice, that we had actually changed something in other peoples lives. The same way as I had said to my parents as I was just a little kid, when asked what I would want to do as adult. My parents friends always laughed at me, saying "well, Mione, we haven't accomplished that, and only heroes can seriously do it, like for example Sherlock Holmes". But Sherlock Holmes hadn't had the problem which we three suddenly faced: there was no privacy. If I wanted to buy new bra, for example, I very quickly realized I would have to go into muggle shops, in muggle London. That is, if I wanted to keep my new black bra to myself, without the winks and whistles on the streets. Some older ladys even had the brains to come to me and remind me of spells to prevent the guy to knock me up. As thoughtful that was, I wanted to have my own life, to make the mistakes I would make, and read my morning paper in peace without having to stress over what persumingly Harry or Ron or me had done the last night. There was no exception made with everything else. It didn't have to be bra or something personal. What Rita Skeeter assumed to be personal was a total mystery for me, as every now and then there would be a huge article about Ron buying a coffee, having a "bed hair" in the middle of the Wednesday lunch. All I could say while reading the paper was "hello, have you ever actually SEEN Ron's hair? It's worse than Harry's if he's on the lazy mood. On which he is actually always, so why am I asking" And the assumptions of Ginny having an affair with Neville just because they hugged on one Sunday morning.

This made me crazy. I talked with everyone about it whom it conserned. Ginny just sighed: "Mione, what did you expect. You guys save the world and peoples asses and they don't start trying to reward you about it? What they see as a reward, you see as a punishment. Now everyone knows who you are. No matter what you will do in your life, it will always be that way." And Ron, the same Ron who was so annoyed the same morning about it, looked me straight into the eye saying "Well, honey, just face it. You won't be able to change it anyways, so why cry about it? Think- you won't have to do anything for the rest of your life. I just checked my account this morning. Three thousands more as donations from thankful folk. My god, that's more than my father ever made." At this, he laughed happily. I turned to look at Harry, who sat on the opposite side of the breakfast table. His hand hung easily on Ginny's shoulder. He looked as a truly happy man, who just woke up after good sex. "you know that I'm on your side, Mione. It's not what was thought to us in life before magic, to sit and wait everything to happen. And speaking of which, my training starts today. At nine am,.. Blimey, it's in half an hour!" He stood nervously up. "How should I smile at everyone when they announce my name? Like normal me or like this?" He grinned so wide that I could see his back teeth. I stuffed my laugh in. "Like normal you, just as you always do. Now, good luck for the training, remember what I told you yesturday!" Ginny and Ron didn't have any reactions for Harrys nervousness. In few minutes Harry was gone. Ron yawned. "Should have been a good boy yesturday and gone to sleep at proper time, now I'm so tired. But Jessica was so hot, I couldn't resist her. Whatever will happen at the game today." I bowed my head. It didn't matter that we were in relationship only for few weeks. I had loved him for a good four years still, it stung me every single time when he talked of another girl. But what could I do? Move out? Say to him not to talk about those things in front of me? Ginny had laughed at me when I told her about this. Said that I had to go fuck somebody, not to stress about some little things like that. "You should be happy he has moved on. He could also be wailing about you still, and it's been what, two months now that you guys broke up?"

It was Ginny who interrupted me from my thoughts. "Anyways, I'm off. I have this photoshoot with Witchess at noon, remember, I told you, Mione?" I looked amazed at her. "No, you didn't mention it at all, Ginny" She simply shrugged it off. "Well. They wanted to interview me and do a covershot of me. Editorial. My second one! Harry was so proud when they asked him for his permission to do the nude shots of me." Just one year before Ron would have locked her in, for even thinking about going topless or pantless outside her room. Doing photoshoots would have never even crossed his mind. Now he sipped his coffee and ate his croissant totally normally, as somebody would have said that the weather was going to be good tomorrow. This totally took me back. What had.. No. How had they become like this? What had I missed. Was I supposed to stand up and say that I had a photoshoot with Vogue the day after tomorrow? Or that I played with the best quiddich team in United Kingdom, and had just come down from my room where the girl still was sleeping so exhausted form the night before? Had I been in a haze the last months, not to understand this all.

It must have been five minutes after Ginny left upstairs that Jessica came down. Even though I'm not in that direction interested, there was nothing that I could do, just watch her breasts when talking with her. She has Ron's yesterdays shirt tucked into jeans, heels on. There was one thing, no, two things seriously wrong with her. She had no brains (Ron, how do you prepare coffee? And- This chair is so funny, I feel like somebody would hug me from behind, just like you did yesturday!) and she had this very annoying laugh. It was high, it was very loud and it hurt my senses. I was ready to slap her after three minutes of being in the same room. Afraid that I would actually do it, I fled into my room. For a minute I thought what should I do today. My room was tidy, the things for Hogwards packed. What I didn't have was a good book that I could read. Not that Sirius' library was bad or not rewarding. But I enjoyed the feeling of how a magical library took a new book and it's bringer in. It felt tingeling, in everypart that the book had touched. Your hand, your face (if you had fallen asleep while reading it). The library felt what you had felt while reading the book in the case it was a novel. Magical libraries were my love forever, from the first time when I had been in the libary of Hogwards. While thinking of this, I picked my clothes and flooed into my favourite bookshop.

The bookshop in itself was a tiny one from outside. But inside, it was huge. There were all kinds of books, which made the visiters always so interesting to watch at, if I had already picked my book. The shopkeeper made my visits always longer, insisting that I would tell him what I thought of the last book I had purchased. Mr Tolk amazed me every single time I saw him, as he never seemed to forget and never seemed to be older or having a bad day. He had been Albus' good friend, but never boasted with the fact. This time, when I walked inside the shop, he turned and greeted me with the usual "Good morning, Miss Granger" and a hug. "How are you? I feel that I haven't seen you in months now, Miss Granger! Such a long time, with you saving the world and never even noticing me and my bookshop. I was seriously worried that you might have forgotten me, and the books. Come, I am in very dangerous need of tee, otherwice I will hex some lad out of the shop for sneaking behind the book shelves." Mr Tolk took my hand and proceeded to the center of the shop. He had his cashier there, also a little counter with coffee and tee, and the best cakes I had ever tasted in wizard world. As he made me sit so that he would serve me tee and Sherlock- cake, he told me about his feelings and worries now the war had ended. "So, you never guess, the day the war ends, this shops door opens suddenly, and there stands my sister, her son and his best friend. They were all covered in blood, like they would have come straight from the battle. My friend who was just eating his cake in the same chair like you sit now, Miss Granger, nearly passed off." I sipped my tea and tried to looks as sympathetic as I could. "I hope they are alright, Mr Tolk, but if I may be truly honest with you? I never knew you had close family." Mr Tolk merely laughed. "You see, my mother didn't approve me as I went to Hogwards and chose Gryffindor. She thought it was not okay. Being the first born and ten years older than my next sibling, it was easy not to tell about me to my three sisters and my younger cousins. In the summers I was on Albus' good will and stayed with him and Minerva in her castle in Scotland. There I worked as a muggle in a local fishing place. I was done with the school half a year quicker than everyone else. Luckily I was already seventeen, so I just went to Ministry and changed my name. Tolk comes from Tolkien, I was so fascinated about his books. This whole time I had never gotten any letters from my family, even my uncle Alphard who always said he would help me in no matter what situation, suddenly seemed to forget me. So I worked for few years, then studied in univercity, and one day a man stops me and asks if I want to buy a bookshop from him. For one thousand. The minute I saw this I was so amazed that payed the money without questioning him about anything. Thank Merlin for Albus, he helped me all along." Now I held his hand. How horrible parents could one just have! To disown the first born and not even tell anybody about it. "Alphard sounds kind of familiary. I somehow assosiate Sirius Black with the name.. What was Alphards last name?" "Black. Oh Miss Granger, I knew you would catch the drift! Because I was a Black, the oldest cousin of Sirius. He used to visit me every day, to loan a book or two. Never returned them but I was too happy about his freedom and finally getting to see him. He was also banned from the tapestry. The memory of how he walked in, straight from Hogwards, still wearing the Gryffindor things on, and shouting as loud as he could something like here comes your banned cousin! Will stay with me until the last day. My customers just shrugged it off, and I closed the shop immidiatly." I had tears in my eyes, as I listened to his story. Hearing something about Sirius was so sudden and a happy, rare ocation nowadays. "So if your sister walked in with her son.. It must have been Mrs Malfoy and Draco Malfoy, with his best friend Zabini. Mr Tolk, or should I call you Mr Black, now you are the only one, and can restore the name and positive of your family, how are they? Are you sure you can trust them? How did Mrs Malfoy find out about you?" He smiled a little sad. "Easily. I was just starting this shop, she was just enrolling to Hogwards. Our mother had sent her to buy the needed things, all alone. As she had done with me and Bellatrix also. Little Narcissa had stumbled on a portkey to Oxford in the street, touched it and was suddenly here. She stood and watched how I tried to set the windows to look good. I felt it took me years and Albus had sat the whole time watching and laughing on the outside with Narcissa over me. So I went ouside.." "And you tried to pinch me so I wouldn't laugh. Albus laughed ever more, untill we asked what was so funny. You remember his voice when he has laughed for some time, don't you Hermione? His deep baritone voice saying "you are siblings, dummies". That made it for us. I visited the shop every now and then, so I wouldn't catch my mothers eye. When I married Lucius Mr Tolk was present on the wedding. He cried as a baby, but had to back off the festivities so that no one would recognize him." I turned my head so quick my neck made a silly sound. There stood Narcissa, as proud and beautiful, as she had ever seemed.

"Narcissa! What did I say to you, about scaring Miss Granger off? Oh I'm so sorry about this, I really am. I told them to stay in the back room, but what can you do? Annoying little sister, as always." With this, Narcissa chuckled. It was the first time I heard her to show any positive emotions. I must confess, the day had started so badly that hearing somebody laugh made me nearly cry. Okay, yes, I started to cry. But hey, a girl has the right! They all stopped. Mr Tolk made everyone leave, of the customers and all Narsissa said was "My, this is the first time when somebody start crying because of my laugh." She sat next to me and hugged. "It's all right, no need to worry, Hermione. Tell me all about it, dear girl." Somehow I told them everything. About how Ron had betrayed me and played with my feelings, how we lived all four in the house and how every morning I went to breakfast I saw Harry so happy and Ginny so changed, how Ron brought every second day a new girl. How I felt so frustrated about them doing something cool and me going to Hogwards only for one lesson (Potions) so that I could have my diploma, so that I could go to univercity next year. The worst was my betrayal of my parents, because no matter that I had brought them back from Australia, they still didn't remember me and treated me like a stranger. After talking and crying for what seemed like a eternity, I was quiet. Narcissa held me in her arms, her shirt wet. "Let's start with two things. First we will send an owl to Minerva, so that she will help you with the diploma. And secondly, you have to move out of the house. I always knew it had bad things waiting for the good people living in it. Move to Oxford, it's easy and compact, with many great places and us just around the corner. Besides, seeing them for some time not so often, will surely help you and steady your relationship with them all. Then, we have to do something about your clothes.. But that will be afterwards. A good shopping spree could show on me and you great effects. Now, brother, call Minerva, and Hermione, go clean youself. You know where the powdering room is."

When I came back, Minerva sat on her chair looking actually very happy. "Hermione, I knew you would have somebody beside you to help you do the Potions to the end. What you are missing is three potions. I will give you one week and Draco to examine them, also help you doing them. After you pass the NEWTS I want Draco to teach occlumency to you. About the problem with the univercity. You have unfortunately missed this year to enroll in one, but I can suggest working this year and moving out from Grimmauld 12. I just met Ginny this morning, I have no idea how you have lived with them all these moths. Now, I'm sure Narcissa can loan a room in the quarters. Any futher questions?"

So, this is it. The next chapter will come in some time, probably in few weeks. :)

Thank you for reading! If you did see any mistakes and have a moment to spare, let me know. (I don't have a beta at the moment, and as English is not my first language I may struggle on one point or another)

-Liz


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